Love Lost
by ladybug24
Summary: Melody's not a normal soul. She's fallen in love with a human, Jeremy, but when they set off to find the human resistance something happens that will change Melody's life forever and the life of her unborn child. Both original and new characters involved.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Host or any of the characters associated with it. I am only using them to put my own twist on Stephenie Meyer's wonderful story.**

My eyes fluttered open and the first thing I saw was the smiling face of Jeremy looking down on me. I smiled up at him and his smile grew as a response. I felt his arms wrap around my waist as he scooted closer to me. I cuddled up to him and sighed contentedly. I was happy, completely and utterly happy and I didn't even care that it was a false happiness. I didn't even care that as soon as we got up we would be on the run once more. I had Jeremy here next to me and that was all that mattered.

"Good morning, love," he murmured as he planted a tender kiss on my forehead. When his lips left I could still feel where they had been on my forehead. I felt as if that kiss had been stamped on my forehead and that I would feel its imprint for the rest of my life.

"Morning," I greeted then yawned and stretched. He loosened his grip on me allowing me space to stretch my stiff limbs, but he never completely let go of me. After I finished I snuggled back up to him and gazed into his leafy green eyes. Swirls of gold danced inside of them like laughter bouncing though a room full of happy people. They were beautiful eyes and I loved them. It didn't even matter to me that they had no hint of silver behind them. I loved this human and no one would ever change that.

It did not matter to me in the slightest that I was a soul and he was not. He was more important to me than any soul I'd ever met. Jeremy was my life. He was the love of my life.

"Ready for breakfast Melody?" he inquired as his arms automatically wound around me once more. As if it had voice of my own my stomach growled and he laughed. I joined in too, but my laughter was small giggles I tried to withhold instead of loud outright laughter, but this only made him laugh harder. "I think that would be a yes."

"Yes, I think you're right," I replied with another giggle that made Jeremy's eyes twinkle.

"How about our little sea monkey?" he asked as he patted my rounded stomach. I lay my hand on top of his and smiled.

"It's starving," I told him softly as I stared into his breath-taking eyes. He smiled at me and rubbed my stomach.

"Good because I'm making pancakes," he informed me brightly. He moved to get up but I grabbed his hand and put it back on my stomach.

"Wha…" he began but stopped.

"It's kicking, Jeremy. Our baby is kicking," I told him with shining eyes. Wonder crossed his face as he kneeled on the bed next to me with his hand on my stomach feeling the movement of the child inside of me. His eyes were brighter than ever as he sat on the bed with me. He looked so happy and that made my happy. He loved our unborn baby.

_You two make me sick._

**Please review people! I would love to hear what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by Stephenie Meyer nor do I own The Host. It is all hers although I wish I had created something so amazing.**

**Thank you to all of those who have read this and reviewed so far. I'm really glad you all like the story and I hope it continues to satisfy. Here is the next bit and please keep leaving those reviews! Toodles! : )**

Melody flinched at the voice. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to Jeremy. He was now looking at her with concern in his eyes. He took his hand away from her stomach and took her hand.

"Melody, are you alright?" he questioned as he tried to peer into her closed eyes.

"I'm fine," she murmured as the fragile happiness that she'd had for those few precious moments began slipping away to be replaced by reality, "It's just-Emily." she finally answered as she opened her eyes. Understanding flooded into Jeremy's face as he sat up in bed.

_Oh it's my fault hmmm? _The voice spat in anger.

_Please, Emily, not today._ Melody begged as Jeremy wrapped his arms around her.

"She is unkind to you isn't she?" he asked softly as he cradled her tiny body in his arms.

"Well, you would know. She was your best friend," Melody answered as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Em, come on, be nice to Melody. She's in a fragile state after all. At least be nice for the baby's sake," Jeremy urged as he stroked Melody's hair.

_Tell him I'd rather eat worms_. Emily snarled in Melody's mind.

_I'd rather not, _was Melody's answer as she pulled herself out of Jeremy's arms. He protested, tightening his grip, but she managed to escape. She forced a smile onto her lips and tried to make her eyes happy.

"How about those pancakes?" she inquired while climbing out of bed. Jeremy looked at her oddly for a second then returned her smile deciding not to push it.

"Coming right up!" he announced. He then leaned across the bed to pick up the telephone on the bedside table. She waited as he dialed a number then let it ring.

"Hello," he said after a couple of seconds, "room-service? Yeah, I'd like to heaping plates of pancakes brought up to room 205 please. Well thank you very much sir and good morning yourself!" Jeremy spoke kindly with the soul on the other line then hung up and turned to Melody who was still watching him. "They'll be up in ten minutes," he announced as he hopped off the bed.

"I better put something on then," Melody replied as she looked down at her thin nightgown. Jeremy laughed at her thoughtful look.

"Okay, love, go make yourself pretty, but hurry," he chuckled tapping the tip of her nose lovingly. This brought a smile to the corners of Melody's lips and she skipped off to the bathroom. She emerged a few moments later wearing a thin blue maternity sundress that flattered her tiny figure beautifully.

"Is this adequate?" she inquired sweetly as she made the skirt sway.

"I suppose it will do," Jeremy answered making her giggle. He rushed forward to pull her into his arms until suddenly there was a knock at the door. A look of fear crossed both of their faces and Melody glanced towards the door. She motioned towards the bathroom and mouthed "go" to Jeremy. He nodded then disappeared inside leaving Melody staring at a closed door. Another knock brought her to her senses and she turned towards the door and smoothed her skirt before stepping forward and answering.

Standing in the doorway was a tall dark skinned man with grey eyes that flashed silver and an angular face that made him appear rather attractive.

"Good morning," Melody greeted forcing a soft smile onto her face. She felt her heart pounding against her rib cage and she glanced at the bathroom door, but the man didn't seem to notice.

"Good morning," he replied kindly, "I brought your breakfast." At his words Melody noticed the cart he had with him.

"Please, come right in!" she invited trying her best to keep the smile from leaving her face. The man obliged and pushed the cart into the room.

"Where's the man who was with you?" As the man asked this there was no accusation in his voice, but Melody felt her breathing speed up. She averted her eyes from the man's face because she knew she couldn't lie while looking at his face.

"He's in the bathroom. He refuses to do anything before taking a shower," she mumbled and as if on cue the noise of the shower came from the bathroom. As she stood she peeked up at the man as she set their plates of food on the little table nestled in the corner. He was smiling. Melody felt relief flood over her. Of course he wouldn't suspect her. To him she seemed like a normal soul with nothing to hide. This gave her confidence and she was able to smile again.

"I know how that is. My wife is the same way," the man replied with a chuckle then straightened up, "well, enjoy your breakfast." He gave Melody a kind smile then walked out of the room. As soon as he was gone Melody let out a sigh and sunk into the nearest chair. As she let her head fall back she heard the bathroom door open and Jeremy walk to her.

"This is the last night we'll be spending in a hotel. We should reach the resistance headquarters by late tonight," he said reassuringly as he took the chair opposite her. She nodded to him then began picking at her breakfast. They ate in silence then packed up their things and headed out of the hotel. They climbed into the car and drove around to the front of the hotel, so Melody could check out. Once everything was in order they set out on the road, but there was still silence. Melody was very tense as they drove along with Jeremy in the driver's seat. She had insisted on driving, but he refused to let her drive in her present state. This arrangement made her nervous, but as the day went on they were not questioned.

It was dark outside and beginning to rain before either of them spoke again.

"It should only take about twenty more minutes before we're there sweetheart," he informed her speaking just loud enough for her to hear him over the soft hum of the radio.

"What if they don't let me come Jeremy? What if they…" she stopped and laid a hand on her stomach feeling worry creep into her body. Worry for her unborn child.

_It would be no less than you deserve you parasite!_ Emily sneered in Melody's head answering her unspoken thoughts.

"They will," Jeremy replied firmly, "They have to. You are carrying one of their kind." Melody's eyes grew wide as Jeremy spoke. She saw flashing lights behind them and a siren began.

"How fast are you going Jeremy?" she asked in a panicked tone.

He looked down at the speedometer and his eyes grew wide, "I didn't realize," he murmured. In panic he pressed on the gas speeding up.

"No! You can't speed up! They'll catch us Jeremy and they'll know what we're doing," Melody cried. Jeremy pressed on the brake slowing the car. There was an extremely serious look on his face as he turned to Melody and began speaking.

"When I tell you to run, you run. Understand?" he asked in a low voice. Her eyes grew wide at his words and she shook her head in disbelief.

"No," she whispered, "no, I won't let you." Tears were pricking her eyes as they pulled up to the side of the road. "Please."

"Melody, it's the only way," he spoke firmly and decidedly, "think of the baby Melody. If we get caught you'll get taken out of that body and someone else will raise our child. Please, do as I say. The resistance is just up that road a few miles. Get yourself there."

Tears were spilling over now as Melody listened to her lover speak. He was right and she knew it, but she wished he wasn't. She nodded obediently as she placed a shaking hand on her belly as if to protect their baby.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say, but Jeremy, I love you," she sobbed.

"I love you too," he murmured. He opened his mouth to say something else, but there was a knock on the window interrupting their goodbye. Jeremy quickly leaned over and planted the tenderest of kisses on Melody's forehead just as he had that morning then rolled down the window to confront the soul standing there.

"Good evening sir," the man with a thick beard greeted as he peered into a car, "may I see…" he stopped dead short as he saw Jeremy's eyes. He reached for his walkie talkie attached to his jacket but before he could get it Jeremy threw his door open knocking the officer to the ground.

"Run!" he shouted as he jumped out of the car. Melody threw her own door open and jumped out of the car. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she broke into a sprint across the dessert. Ragged sobs ripped from her chest as she ran away from the one thing that brought happiness into her life. Running away from the sounds of growls and yells that were no doubt coming from Jeremy was the hardest thing she had ever done in all her lives. Then she heard the gun shot and everything went silent.

"No!" she shouted helplessly, but never stopped running. If it hadn't been for the little life growing inside her she would have fallen and let whatever wanted to come for her come.

_Yes,_ came Emily's wickedly happy voice, _those people whom you call your own just killed the love of your life. How does that make you feel Melody? Do you hate them? Do you feel angry? Now you know how we feel. Now you've lost something just like the rest of us._


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Okay I know that normally in the desert it does not pour rain, but for purposes of the story we are going to pretend it does okay? I hope no one has a problem with it and if you do…well that just stinks for you I guess. lol.**

**Well, thank you very much to everyone who has reviewed and who is reading this. I am so happy you all like it and please keep those reviews coming. They really inspire me to write. This is going to sound super mean and you all are going to hate me a lot, but I will not post the chapter after this one until I have at least five reviews. Now, on to the story.**

**Melody: Um wait….you forgot something.**

**Emily: Yeah, you forgot to tell people that you suck and don't own the host. Loser. "snickers"**

**Me: Gee thanks, Em, I'm glad you appreciate me, your creator.**

**Emily: I don't.**

**Me: Whatever. Yeah, so, like she said the Host, unfortunately isn't mine. It is all stephenie meyer's. I just own the characters of Jeremy and Melody.**

**(sorry, I just had to do that lol.)**

Tears continued to pour down my face as I ran, mingling with the cold rain that was pouring from the dark sky soaking through the thin dress I'd put on earlier that morning. I didn't know how long I ran. The only thing I knew was that the desert never changed and the rain never stopped falling. The cold rain began to make me shiver as it soaked me to the bone. My teeth chattered and my limbs began feeling very numb. Mud splashed up around my feet as they pounded against the ground carrying me further and further away from Jeremy and the perfect, civilized life I'd known for thousands of years. It plastered my legs and splattered the hem of my dress only adding to my deep discomfort.

As I ran Emily's words continued to echo through my head. _Now you've lost something just like the rest of us. _Jeremy was gone, but I was not like her. I would never be like her. The soul who had killed him was only trying to do what was right. He had been doing his job. I couldn't blame him for that. I couldn't be angry. I was the one who had done wrong.

_You don't believe that. I know you don't. You hate him Melody, with every bone in your body. Just like I do. Just like every human on earth hates him. You are like us Melody. _Emily sneered gleefully.

"No," I choked as my pace faltered and I fell to the ground on all fours too weak and cold to continue moving forward. This rain, it was so strange for the desert. It was so cold and weakened me. It was keeping me from reaching my goal, from keeping my promise to Jeremy. At the thought of his name a strangled cry escaped my mouth and more tears made paths down my colorless cheeks.

_You are Melody, no matter how much you deny it. You are like us and now you are going to die with that thought in your head. You have succumbed to the hatred of this body you have tethered yourself to. My hatred has flowed into you. Your loss has transformed you into a human, Melody._ Emily continued cackling away inside my head. She mocked me through my pain only making it increase.

I had never understood why humans had called it heartbreak because it didn't seem sadness could be physically felt, but I felt a deep ripping pain inside my chest where my heart was. It felt as though it was slowly tearing itself to pieces trying to disappear so the pain would stop. But the pain didn't stop and the ripping continued. I cried out, sobbing and shaking wishing I could disappear.

"Please, Emily," I begged as my arms shook from supporting my body," please, stop." Finally my cold limbs gave way and I fell into the mud. Instead of trying to get back up I just laid there sobbing uncontrollably as Emily laughed at me, not caring that I felt as if I was falling to pieces here in the mud. She said no more to me, but she continued to laugh at my pain. I tried to tune her out as I lay there.

I didn't know what else to do. I was cold and weak. I didn't know where I was or whether anyone would find me here in the middle of the desert. When they found me would they know who I was? Would they know I was the girl who had fallen in love with the human? If they did know they would surely remove me from this body. I would lose the little life growing inside of me.

Thinking about my child only made the pain increase. I had failed my baby. I was lying here in the mud giving up. I had succumbed to the pain and the emotions of this human body and now, because of my weakness and the cold rain still falling and stinging my icy skin, I was surely going to die, and so would my baby. There was no hope left for us.

But as this though ran through my head Emily's laughter fell silent and realization flashed through our joint mind. I was only vaguely aware because of the pain that was numbing my thoughts.

_Don't you dare give up! _She suddenly snapped. My eyes flew open in surprise at the harsh tone of her voice, but it wasn't the tone that had surprised me, but the words she had spoken, the words of encouragement. _Melody of Falling Rain, don't you dare give up on that child!_ she shrieked, using my full name, which I had been unaware she had even known.

_What do you want me to do?_ I asked weakly as I let my eyes close again, but her tone had brought some of the life back into my mind and the stream of tears slowed a little.

_Get up! Keep going! Find those humans. Keep your promise to Jeremy. Keep that baby alive!_ Again her words shocked me and I felt a strange wave of protectiveness flow from the corner of my mind where she was trapped. I didn't understand it. Then suddenly realization flooded through my body and I gasped out loud.

_You….you love it, don't you? _I asked softly as I pushed myself a little ways out of the mud. She was silent trying to keep from thinking, but I felt it now, the love she'd had for this baby all along. I didn't know how I hadn't seen it all along. It was so strong.

_This is my body after all,_ she grumbled, _therefore, that is also _my _child. Of course I would love it. Just like I still like Jeremy as I did when we were humans. He was my best friend. I just wish he hadn't come looking for me._ These words Emily was speaking were so strange. They revealed a side of her I'd never seen before; a softer side that had been there before I'd shown up. But even with this new perception of Emily and new found encouragement I didn't have the strength to push myself back to my feet. This body was so tiny, and weak. It couldn't overcome the weariness and cold that was pressing on it.

_I'm sorry Emily, but I just can't. I wish I could,_ I murmured as my eyes fluttered closed once more. I let out a small sigh and let my muscles relax. The feeling of the rain on my skin was not so prominent now, but that was probably because all my limbs were numb. I was still shivering, but I hardly noticed. A soft fog was rolling through my mind making everything fuzzy and blurry. I could still here Emily shouting at me, but her voice was far away. She was telling me not to give up, but it was so easy. The cold would take me and it would be painless.

_Think about the baby! _Emily cried helplessly,_ you promised you'd take care of it!_ But her words had no affect on my mind. It was too far gone. I was too far gone. I just lay waiting for unconsciousness to take over. It had almost won when I heard something splashing through the mud and saw light shining on the lids of my eyes.

For a moment I fought to get my eyelids open. They were so heave, but I managed just in time to see something tramping through the mud towards me. I wondered who it was, but nothing in my mind seemed to really care.

"Mel, what the heck are you doing?" a deep man's voice demanded. I heard another pair of feet splashing through the mud followed by two more. One of the pairs I could hardly hear because they had such a light step and this made me wonder if it was a child. At that thought my hand moved slowly to cover my stomach protectively and I waited, still barely conscience, for something to happen.

"Look at the poor thing, we can't just leave her here," a girl's voice answered. Then suddenly I felt something warm snake underneath my body and lift me from the ground.

_Yes! Thank goodness!_ I heard Emily sigh. The only thing I cared about was the warmth of the arms holding me. I curled up to the person and tried to stay as close as possible to the warmth radiating from the body.

"Who is she?" the male asked, "and why is she all the way out here?" The person holding me began to walk as the man spoke, but she made sure to walk slowly. I thought I heard Emily say it was because she was trying to be careful with me, but I wasn't sure. My mind was becoming more and more unclear every second.

"Oh yeah, like she would really know that Jared, " another male's voice answered. I flinched at the harshness of the voice.

"Stop arguing you two," the female ordered, "she doesn't like it."

"Is she human?" the first voice asked as I felt warmth swarm around me. The girl carrying me sat down, but continued to cradle me in her arms.

"Let's check," the second male suggested.

"No!" my protector protested, but suddenly I felt my eyelid being forced open and a bright light was shined into my eyes. I cringed away trying to close my eye and moaned. Whoever had opened it let go and I felt the girl's arms tighten around me.

"She's a soul," I heard a softer female's voice announce. It was not the one who was carrying me.

"Let's get home," the first female ordered. I felt a small jerk and heard something slam before I could hold on no longer and my mind slipped away.

"No." The word was familiar to me and drew me out of the blackness I'd been swimming in for what had seemed like ages. A strange feeling of disorientation clouded my mind as I tried to remember where I was and why this word was being said.

"But, Wanda, she's a soul. She has to be taken out. It would be best to do it before she wakes back up," I felt as if I recognized this voice, but I couldn't match who it belonged to.

"No," the other voice retorted. I recognized this one two. It was soft and almost tender. I liked it. I fought with my eyelids trying to get them open so I could see who this voice belonged to. As I struggled she began to speak again, "Jared, we need to know why she's here and what her reason's are. We also need to know if there is someone there with her. You remember what happened with Pet and Judy. The mind didn't come back. And most importantly, she's pregnant." As she said this reality suddenly crashed over me and I remembered everything that had happened last night. I fought harder with my eyes trying to get them open and finally I succeeded just as the man, Jared, was answering.

"I doubt she'll tell us," he retorted and was about to say something else when he noticed my eyes were open. I couldn't see any of them. I was staring up at a ceiling that looked as if it was made of purplish brown rock. I wanted to see who they were, but I didn't know if I had the strength to move yet. Although, I felt my hand instinctively move to my stomach as if it had a mind of its own.

_Melody, _I heard Emily sigh. It was strange to hear her sound so happy and relieved. She'd been so upset that I'd been in her body. She had wanted me dead for months now.

"Why don't you ask her Jared, she's awake," I heard the female who had carried me last night speak and she sounded a little harsh. As she spoke I heard movement and two people moved close enough to me that I could see them. One of them was small and so beautiful! She had pale silvery skin and soft golden hair. She smiled gently at me and as she did I saw the rim of silver around her eyes. She was a soul! She was like me.

"Hey," she greeted gently as the other girl who seemed her exact opposite smiled at me as well. The other girl was tall and tan with thick dark hair and brown eyes that seemed fierce, but tender as she looked down at me. I didn't answer. I couldn't find the muscles to open my mouth.

"You had a pretty rough night. We found you lying out in the desert," the dark haired girl informed me. I only managed to nod in response to her words. As I did this I felt pure joy pour from Emily as she made an observation my still groggy mind had failed to see. The dark haired girl had no silver in her eyes. She was still human.

_Humans!_ Emily cried in elation. Her happiness filled my mind making it impossible for me to focus. Confusion flowed through me and I closed my eyes and turned down the corners of my mouth. I tried to see through her joy to what was happening, but I couldn't.

"Is she okay?" I heard the dark haired girl ask nervously.

"Mel, imagine waking up in a room full of strangers you don't know. That would be a little unnerving don't you think? Give her time to adjust," the little blonde one answered.

"Where…am…I?" I managed to ask slowly as I fought to contain Emily.

"Welcome to the human resistance," the male piped up.

**I hope you all enjoyed this. I worked really hard on it.**

**I just wanted to mention that I noticed the last chapter I accidentally wrote in third person (meaning, for those who don' t know, that it was not seen through Melody's eyes) I wanted to apologize for that and say that from here on out it will be in first person. Thanks for reading and PLEASE review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and I promise I won't do that again. I just wanted to see what you guys think of the story. It really helps to make me want to keep going. Here is the next bit. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Me: I do not own The Host or any of its characters…Ha Emily I didn't forget this time.**

**Emily: You're still a loser.**

**Me: Do you have a single kind bone in your body?**

**Melody: Of course she does!**

**Me: Where?**

**Melody: Um….**

**Emily: No. I don't. Now, enough of this stupidity they want to read.**

**Melody: Here's chapter four!**

I was blinded by Emily's ecstasy as these words met our ears. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to make sense of this emotion that was obscuring everything and keeping me from registering these words properly.

_We made it!_ Emily shouted inside my head drowning out any other sound that might have reached my ears. As she said this I realized the meaning of the man's words. I had found Jeremy's humans. I had kept my promise.

But instead of becoming filled with joy like Emily I was filled with fear. My eyes flew open and I stared fearfully at the faces bending towards me. There were more than just the two girls now there were so many people, so many monsters. I felt panic rising inside me, choking me as I tried to push myself away from the faces of the people who could possibly be my killers, completely forgetting about the little blonde haired girl with eyes like mine.

"It's okay, no one is going to hurt you," the dark haired girl said kindly, but I didn't believe her. She was a human and they were good liars. It would be impossible for me to judge if she was being truthful or not. I just stared at her with wide eyes full of fear and pushed myself closer to the other side of the cot I was laying on.

_Stop being stupid Melody!_ Emily scolded angrily, _they are going to save us!_ I didn't listen to her though; I was too busy concentrating on getting out of their reach. I was so confused and full of conflicting emotions I didn't realize what would happen when I reached the edge of the cot until suddenly my hand was no longer on the cot and I lost my balance. A small squeak escaped my mouth as I fell off the cot and through the air. My tiny body hit the stone floor with a loud thud sending pain shooting through me. I heard gasps escape the humans who were still on the other side of the cot then feet began to shuffle.

"No," a tiny high-pitched voice ordered and the scuffling stopped, "she can't handle all of you right now. Everyone except Melanie, Jamie, and Doc get out." The feet began scuffling again and I cowered where I sat watching the feet of the humans move, but they didn't move towards me. They moved towards a dark opening in the wall I could see as I sat looking under the cot waiting for someone to hurt me. Once the noise of movement stopped I saw only four pairs of feet on the other side of the cot. One of them was small and the bare legs exposed were pale and covered in tiny golden freckles.

These were the first pair of feet to move towards me. They walked slowly and deliberately until I saw, standing over me, the pretty girl with locks of golden hair tumbling over her shoulders. She smiled down at me and I saw the silver glint in her eyes. A small feeling of relief flooded through me as I remembered her, but Emily was filled with disgust. I tried to ignore this as the blonde knelt beside me.

"Don't be afraid," she instructed gently as she sat down on the floor beside me. I just looked at her as my body began to shake with the fear I could not contain despite her calming words.

_What is she doing here? She's one of you._ Emily asked angrily as she saw this girl in a completely different light than me.

"Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere? That was quite a fall and we found you in pretty bad shape last night," the blonde continued keeping her voice low and calm, "I'm Wanda, by the way, and I'm just like you."

"I know," I murmured unable to hold back words in her presence. She didn't scare me like the others did. She was kind and she was a soul, which meant she couldn't lie to me. "M-my whole body is tired an-an-and I'm sc-scared-d-d. Are they going to….going to hurt me?"

"Oh, honey," Wanda sighed scooting closer to me and taking my hand, "no one is going to hurt you. We just wanted to ask you a few questions. Why don't you get back up onto the cot then we can talk and after that you can sleep. How does that sound?" I nodded and she smiled at me. She gently helped me to my feet then the dark haired girl came to our side of the cot. I cringed away from her, but she ignored me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I let out a cry of fear, but all she did was lift me onto the cot. Wanda hopped up beside me then the girl, I believed her name was Melanie, hopped up on the cot opposite ours followed by a little boy with bright eyes.

I was still shaking as everyone got situated and I really just wanted to disappear.

_You are such a baby,_ Emily scoffed sounding very exasperated with me.

_I'm sorry I'm not like you,_ I mumbled in return feeling very ashamed of my weakness.

Now that I was okay Emily was back to being as ruthless as ever. She wanted me to forget the Emily of last night as fast as possible and if that meant she had to be twice as mean to me, she would.

"Now, why don't we start with your name? That's pretty painless isn't it?" Wanda asked as she took my hand again. I took a little comfort from her touch, but not enough to make me feel safe in this cavern full of humans.

"Melody of Falling Rain, but p-p-people just call me M-Mel-Melody," I answered in a squeak as I kept my eyes fixed on her pretty face not wanting to see the humans. I didn't know if I would be able to keep my calm if I looked at them. I believed Wanda when she said they wouldn't hurt me, but that could only be the lie they were feeding her. If she was a soul that meant she couldn't distinguish human's lies any better than I could.

"That's a pretty name," the boy sitting opposite me piped up, but I said nothing.

"You don't have to be afraid of Jamie, I promise. He couldn't hurt a fly," Wanda assured me, "and this is his big sister Melanie. She was the one who found you last night." Pain shot through me at the mention of the previous night and before I could realize what was happening sobs were escaping from my mouth and tears were flooding down my face. The ache from last night pushed its way into my chest. I doubled over wrapping my arms around myself as I choked out sob after sob.

"Jeremy," I sobbed completely forgetting about the people around me. The hurt of loss was drowning me and I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I was slightly aware of a pair of arms that wrapped around me as another hand stroked my hair.

"It's okay," I heard Wanda whisper, "could you tell us what happened to-Jeremy?" she asked sounding hesitant to say his name.

"I loved him," I whispered as I leaned into Wanda and continued to sob. It was the only thing I could manage to say.

"Was Jeremy, your mate?" Wanda asked softly.

"H-he w-wasn't a soul, but he's-he's my b-b-baby's father," I gasped choking out sobs.

"Not a soul?" Melanie asked with surprise filling her voice. I shook my head as a rather violent set of sobs forced their way through my lips. Wanda continued to hold me in her arms as I cried and rubbed my back. I felt Melanie's hands always stroking my hair and even the little boy, Jamie, patted my arm. Then I lifted my head and told them everything. Pouring out the story from when Jeremy had first come to find me, or Emily, to the gun shot.

The flow of tears never stopped and I never stopped shaking. The only thing that changed was the heaviness of my eyelids. I was so tired. When I finished I shut my mouth and let my head fall forward.

"She's tired," Jamie stated softly as Melanie stopped stroking my hair.

"She needs to sleep," Wanda announced as she began rocking gently with me still in her arms.

"No, not before she gets food into her system. The baby needs nourishment," a new voice piped up and I figured this must be Doc because he was the only one left in the room that I hadn't been introduced to. His voice came from somewhere behind me, but I didn't bother to find him. I was too tired. Even Emily was tired now. She was curled tightly into a corner of my mind trying to ignore me as much as possible. The story of when Jeremy came looking for her always caused her pain.

"Melody," Wanda's voice protruded into my thoughts. I lifted my weary eyes and gazed at her soft face, "is there anyone in there with you?"

"Yes," I whispered, "yes, her name is Emily. She's," I paused trying to find the words to describe her, "vicious."

"Would you like to get away from her? Out of that body?" Wanda asked in almost a whisper.

_Tell her if she even tries to take you out she'll regret it!_ Emily threatened in her harsh tone that always made me recoil.

"Well…um…Emily says if you try to take me out you'll regret it," I replied reluctantly, "she wasn't exactly thrilled when she woke up after my insertion to find she was still alive. She'd actually been found by accident. She was trying to…commit suicide. She hates me for keeping her alive and giving this body a reason to live."

"The baby?" Wanda asked.

_You tell her that if she takes you out I'll go through with the plans I'd had before you souls even knew I existed,_ Emily continued.

"She loves the baby, but she doesn't want to live in a world where she isn't free. She's happy I'm here to go through the daily routine of things, so she can get lost in her memories instead of living. But she says that if you take me out she'll go through with her previous plans," I told them as I fought with my eyes to stay open.

"Okay, well, we can talk about that later. Right now you need sleep," Melanie said as I felt her arms lift me off the cot and began carrying me like she had last night. I didn't fight her. I was too tired. Instead, I just curled into a small ball in her arms and laid my hand on my stomach.

"How far along are you?" Wanda asked, meaning with my pregnancy, as we moved along. I wasn't sure where we were going and I didn't really care.

"Four and a half months," I told them wearily. The walk was silent after this and my mind continued to become groggier and groggier until I felt as if it was wrapped in a blanket of warmth that blocked out everything else and made my thoughts blurry.

"Are we going to take her into the kitchen?" I heard Jamie ask. I hadn't realized he'd come with us.

"Yes. It would take too long to wait for someone to bring us food. She needs to sleep. She has to stay healthy for her baby," Melanie answered. As she said this I heard a soft droning of voices coming from up ahead. Then Wanda's small hand took mine.

"Melody, we're going into the kitchen now. There are quite a few people in here, but don't be afraid. None of them will hurt you," she told me. I tensed in Melanie's arms as I was told I was about to enter a room full of humans, but I was too tired to protest. The voices grew as Melanie kept walking until they swarmed around me. For a moment it was silent then suddenly the sound exploded and it sounded as if everyone was talking at once as loudly as they could. I curled closer to Melanie and Wanda's hand tightened around mine.

"Who is she?"

"Is she going to stay?"

"Ian told us she was pregnant."

"Hey," Melanie spoke loud enough so she could be heard over everyone, "she doesn't need this right now. Everyone needs to just back up." Immediately the voices went away and I relaxed a little, but I was still aware of many pairs of eyes on me even though my own were shut.

"Can we at least know her name?" one of the male's voices from last night asked. I heard Wanda begin to speak, but before she could finish I opened my own mouth.

"Melody," I whispered sleepily.

"She's had a really rough two days, Jared. She just needs some food and sleep. We'll discuss what to do when she's stronger," Melanie added addressing the boy who had spoken.

"Here," I felt something being put into my hand as Wanda spoke, "eat this. You need to stay strong for the baby."

_Eat it._ Emily ordered firmly. I lifted the roll to my mouth, never opening my eyes, and finished it in a few bites. Another was given to me and I ate that one too, but when a third was placed into my hands I shook my head and gave in to the sleep that had been pressing on me ever since we had left the room I'd woken in.

"Sleep well Melody," I heard Wanda mumble as I drifted away.

**Okay, so I gave in a posted before getting all the reviews I wanted, but I wanted to give you guys more because I have like eleven people who have favorited this. **

**I also wanted to apologize for the length of my chapters. I'm trying to make them longer, but it's just not working. Oh well. I hope you all enjoyed and please review! I love to hear your opinions!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Not much to say at the beginning of this chapter except thanks for the reviews and everyone who has favorite this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Host. It and its characters were created by Stephenie Meyer. The only ones which are mine are Emily and Melody.**

**Please enjoy this chapter!**

The first thing I noticed as my mind began to pull itself from the depth of my dreams was the feeling of something soft underneath me. I opened my eyes groggily to find myself staring at the purple earth that made the caves I had stumbled upon. I yawned sleepily and stretched feeling a little better than I had the day before. As I straightened myself back out I realized it was a mattress I was laying on and there was a thin sheet covering me. My head was also nestled comfortably into a pillow. It would have been quite nice had I not had a feeling of impending doom bearing down on me as my mind became clearer and clearer.

"Good morning, Melody," I heard a soft voice greet. I looked around to find Wanda sitting cross legged a little ways away from the mattress. My eyes quickly scanned the room, but I found no one else. "There is no one else here with us," she confirmed kindly as she moved towards me. I sat up slowly keeping my eyes glued to her. It wasn't that I didn't trust her. It was that I didn't trust the people whom she had so much faith in.

"Where are the others?" I asked meekly as I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

"I told them to stay away for a while. I knew once your mind was fully recovered you wouldn't want to be around them. They're a little intimidating at first," she explained, "but I promise they mean you no harm. They're just curious and a little nervous because of everything they've been through."

"Intimidating? I think that's an understatement," I murmured averting my eyes away from her.

"You'll get used to them. I promise," she assured me as she came to sit beside me on the mattress. "I need to ask you a few more questions. We didn't quite finish talking yesterday. And then-well-they wish to hold a meeting on what to do next. We can't very well let you leave because you could go to a seeker, but we cannot remove you because of Emily's feelings. Things need to be discussed. You understand don't you?" Her voice was calming, but I could hear the uncertainty in her words.

"You can do whatever you like and I'll answer whatever you want," I replied. It didn't seem that I really had any choice. I was a pregnant, defenseless girl who was recovering from the worst night of my life. They had complete control over me.

"Tell me more about Emily, please," she prompted, "tell me her story."

_Lie._ Emily ordered, _don't tell that worm anything!_

_I can't lie convincingly Emily. Even Wanda would see through me,_ I reminded her, _I have to tell the truth. I don't have any other choice. We are their prisoners._

_Prisoners? They saved your sorry hide, _Emily spat, but I didn't reply; her words we cutting into me. I had tried my best to save us, but I could only push this tiny, frail body so far.

"When the invasion first began Emily knew right away something strange was happening. She watched as the world around her fell apart. After six years she couldn't take it anymore and decided to end her misery. She decided a tall bridge would do the trick, but it just so happened that a construction crew was scheduled to work on the bridge that day. They saw Emily jump and managed to save her. After she was healed I was inserted. I thought that I would have her memories and that's it, but I found out the night I went home that I had company. She's been battering away at me ever since trying to get me to skip," I told her in quiet voice.

"What about Jeremy. I know he came looking for Emily after she disappeared. Had they been living together? Did he have any feelings for her? Beyond friendship?" Wanda pressed still keeping her soft tone.

"No, they weren't living together. Jeremy had survived alone and was sure that Emily would still be alive too because he knew she was a fighter, so he went looking for her, but when he found her-me it was too late. She wasn't herself anymore. I was here too. Before I had come Emily and Jeremy had no feelings for each other. They were just friends. I don't know what made Jeremy fall in love with me. A soul of all things," I continued. I didn't know how I was managing to pour my soul out to this girl I barely knew, but her soft features and innocent face made it easy for me to talk to her.

"Okay, that's all I wanted to know. This will stay between you and I. Now come on; let's go get some breakfast," she smiled at me as she stood then held out her hands to help me up. I struggled to my feet with her help, it was hard with my round belly, then she led me out of the room we had been staying in. I glanced curiously at the pretty pink curtain that served as the door for this particular cave.

As we walked out and into a sort of hallway I noticed that there were a number of caves running the length of this hall, but many were still under construction with shovels and picks lining the wall and laying on the floor.

"We've had a steep increase in numbers lately so there has been a demand in rooms which needs to be filled. Jeb wanted to work on them today, but I told him to stay away. They're all in the main room. Do you think you can handle it in there? Everyone is in there working on the planting. There are a lot of people, but there is another soul there. Her name is Sunny," Wanda spoke encouragingly as she began leading me out of this tunnel and into another.

"Why are there souls here?" I questioned as Emily thought the same thing though; much more maliciously than I did. My thoughts were filled with more fear than anything for these trusting souls. Had they not been told anything about the brutality these humans were capable of?

"I came because of my host. She loved two people much her love seeped into me and I loved them too. She wanted to see them and I wanted to see them, so we came to find them. It took a long time for me to be accepted here, but finally they accepted me. I almost gave up my life for these humans, but they saved me just in time and gave me a new host," she told me.

"What do you mean you almost gave up your life?" I pressed as my hand tightened around hers. Our hands were practically the same size. Hers was just a little bigger than mine, which seemed almost impossible. She was so tiny which meant I must be even smaller.

"My host was locked inside my mind, just like Emily is in yours, and I wanted to free her, so she could be with the ones she loved. There wasn't enough room for the both of us," Wanda's voice was soft as she told me this. I didn't say anything after she was finished talking. We just walked in silence, but she continued speaking after a moment, "you met her actually. Melanie was my old host body. Jared and Jamie were the ones who she loved and made me love. You met both of them as well. Ian is the one who kept them from letting me die. He was so mad when he found out.," she chuckled at this, but I didn't see how it was funny.

"I remember Melanie and Jamie, but not the others," I whispered as fear began creeping inside me. The reality of what I was about to do was crashing over me. As my panic escalated Emily began to laugh.

_Coward,_ she snickered, _I'll throttle them if they take you out, but it's no less than you deserve. I hope you rot in hell. You are disgusting you parasite._ These words had echoed in my head so many times, but they never ceased to hurt me and she knew that.

"Don't worry, I'll show them to you in a minute. And remember, don't be afraid. They are more afraid of you than you are of them. Trust me, I was in your situation once. In fact, mine was a little worse. I didn't have another soul here when I came. They were very…unkind to me in the beginning." Wanda spoke so brightly, but I didn't see, yet again, how these were happy words. They were only making my heart rate quicken and my hands shake.

Wanda noticed and squeezed my hand gently. We walked in silence after that. It took another three minutes before a large opening appeared ahead and I saw many bodies moving around under a bright yellow light that fell in beams through the bit of the room I could see.

"Just be calm. It will be okay," Wanda whispered to me as we neared the hole. My whole body was shaking now and panic was flooding through my veins making my heart batter against my rib cage as if it wanted to escape just like I did. Just before we entered the room my free hand moved to cover my belly protectively. They could do what they wanted to me, but they better not touch my baby. At this thought a strange feeling of warmth flooded through my mind and I realized Emily's motherly instinct to protect was molding with mine. This was the only thing she would unite with me for; the safety of this baby we carried and loved more than our own lives.

"Wanda!" an old stout man exclaimed from where he stood thrusting a shovel into the strangely colored earth.

"Hey Jeb," she greeted as she pulled me towards him. Many other people lifted their heads to look at us. I felt eyes burn into my flesh and I nervously inched closer to Wanda. I didn't like this. "She's ready."

"Well, that's just dandy," he smiled a crinkly smile at me making crow's feet appear at the corners of his eyes before turning to face the other people in the room, "hear that everyone? Head to the game room. We're gonna have ourselves a meetin'," he hollered dropping his shovel on the ground. Everyone followed his example leaving their tools where they stood then heading as a mass unit towards a different exit. Melanie jogged up to us with two water bottles in her hand. She smiled down at me and handed a bottle to both me and Wanda.

"It's nice to see you up and about Melody," she said kindly, "now let's get heading to the game room." Just as she said this I noticed three boys making their way towards us and a new wave of panic crashed over me making my eyes grow wide. I recognized the one in the middle as Jamie; the little boy from last night, Melanie's brother. The other two seemed slightly familiar, but they were so blurry.

"The blonde one is Jared, and the black haired one is Ian," Wanda muttered in my ear as they got within a stone's throw of us.

"Morning Wanda! Morning Melody!" Jamie exclaimed happily as he reached Melanie's side. Wanda smiled at him and patted his arm as Jared reached Melanie. He wrapped an arm around her waist and planted a kiss on her cheek while Ian made his way to Wanda's side. He cupped her cheek in his large hand and just smiled at her.

"I missed you last night," he informed her gently. She smiled back at him and reached up with her free hand to touch his hand.

"She needed my Ian. She still needs me," Wanda said, "you're going to have to wait your turn." After this she brushed his hand away and turned her attention back to me.

"Let's go," she urged softly taking in my wide eyes and fearful expression. I didn't like being in such close proximity with so many humans. I was terrified. She let go of my hand and I opened my mouth to protest, but nothing came out. My mouth just sat a little ways open as my hand absently rubbed my belly. Then I felt her arm around my shoulders and her hand wrapped around mine once more. This calmed me just a little. She began leading me after everyone else and her little gang followed in tow.

"There's no need to be afraid," she whispered in my ear as we entered yet another dark tunnel, but I felt completely opposite. There was everything to fear.

The next room I was led to was even larger than the main room, but the ceiling here was much lower making it easy for lanterns to hang from it. There was a group of people settled a little ways from the entrance in a half circle with Jeb in the middle.

"Hurry up now, I haven't got all day," he insisted as we entered the room, "ever'one but Melody have a seat and we'll talk."

"Jeb, I'm not sure if she'll be okay by herself," Wanda told him. He raked his eyes over us taking in my fearful expression and Wanda's hold on me.

"Well then, let's all take a seat. I prefer sittin' anyways. It's more comfort'ble. Wanda you can sit here with Melody by me," Jeb announced then dropped to the ground with a deep sigh. Melanie, Jamie, Ian, and Jared went to take a seat in the crowd while Wanda led me over to where Jeb was sitting. She helped me get settled then took the spot between me and Jeb. I appreciated that.

"Just answer whatever they ask truthfully," she murmured in my ear as Jeb got ready to speak.

"So, we got ourselves another soul here, but we've got a bit of pickle. Anybody got some ideas?" he questioned lazily.

"Can't we just do what we've been doing?" a woman with a child in her lap near the back of the group questioned.

"Wanda care to explain the situation?"

"Her host has threatened that she will commit suicide if Melody is removed. We cannot risk that because Melody is carrying a child and we don't want to endanger the life of the child," Wanda explained obediently.

"See, it wouldn't matter what she did with her body, 'cept there's a baby in there and it got a right to live," Jeb added.

"We could watch her," someone else suggested.

"Are you going to sit and play guard twenty-four seven?" Jared questioned as he turned to address whoever had spoken, "trust me, it's no picnic."

"That's a good point. We can't play babysitter all day. We got work to do. The only option I can see is that we jus' keep her aroun'. I'm sure she can do some sort'a work," Jeb piped up.

"We've got enough of them centipedes crawlin' 'round these caves already. We don't need another," a woman with grizzly grey hair growled from the center of the group.

"No one asked your opinion Magnolia," Jeb spat back.

"I got a right to my 'pinion seeein' as I'm part of this group," the woman hissed back.

"Maggie, see here now, what else can we do? We can't send her back and we can't take her out. There isn't any other option," a woman with tanned skin said in a kinder tone.

"She could be a seeker," another woman sitting next to Doc added.

"She isn't. Can't you see she's scared to death?" Wanda inquired a little defensively.

"Yeah, you said the same about Wanda when she came and she's proved herself to be a very valuable asset," Melanie piped up.

"I'm not a seeker," the room went dead silent, all the quiet conversations amongst the crowd stopped abruptly as I spoke, " I would never harm a human intentionally."

_But you're scared to death of them. You keep calling them monsters,_ Emily said sounding very confused.

_They do scare me and they are monsters, but not all of them and plus they are Jeremy's kind. If I knew I was deliberately hurting someone Jeremy might have loved I couldn't live with myself._

_I don't understand you,_ Emily muttered then fell silent.

"What do you mean Melody?" Ian asked gently. He spoke to me the way Wanda did and somehow that made me trust him a little more than the others. I looked straight into his sapphire blue eyes as I spoke.

"Jeremy, was human. I loved Jeremy. Before we were-were caught we were heading here. He wanted to come and help," I explained in a shaky voice., "I wanted to come and help. I know what we souls have done wrong and I wanted to make it better. I'm pregnant with his child. I loved him." Tears were pricking my eyes again as I spoke and I wanted to hide my face from all of these eyes, but I knew I couldn't look away now. That would make them think I was lying. There was silence after I spoke in which people looked from me to Wanda to Jeb and back. My speech had confused them.

"It seems that the only option is ta have a vote. All not in favor of Melody stayin' raise your hand," Jeb instructed. Quite a few people raised their hands. By this time I felt it was safe to break my gaze, so I did and looked at my shaking hands instead.

"Okay, now all in favor raise yer hands," he instructed after a moment in which he spent counting. I saw Wanda's hand shoot into the air out of the corner of my eye along with Jeb, Jamie, Jared, and Ian. There was another silence as Jeb counted once more. "It seems the vote is in her favor. She's a stayin'." He announced, "now ever'one get back ta work."

**I hope this chapter was okay. There wasn't too much action, but this needed to happen, so….please review and I shall update soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it has taken me so long to post. I'm a busy lady. I'm on Christmas break now though; so I should be able to post at least every other day. Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Emily: Are you really going to put me through more of this excruciating torture?**

**Me: Yep. My readers want more. You're just gonna have to suck it up.**

**Emily: You suck it up! I swear if you…**

**Melody: Emily**

**Emily: What?**

**Me: Okay, okay let's get on with this people are waiting.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Host or any of it's characters. Only Emily and Melody are mine.**

My mouth fell open at Jeb's announcement and I couldn't move. I just sat in shock as everyone around me got to their feet. Some were muttering together darkly while others were talking brightly. Their voices were a cacophony cluttering my mind making it impossible for me to focus. The only thing I could keep my mind on was that I was staying with these humans.

"Melody," a hand was on my arm, but I hardly felt it as Wanda spoke in my ear, "Melody let's go. We can go help in the kitchen. You can help make rolls." She tapped me gently as she tried to pull me to my feet, but I didn't respond. Most of the people had cleared out by now, but I was still where I had been since the beginning of the meeting.

"Melody, it's okay. You're staying. You should be happy," Melanie's voice permeated my mind now, but I didn't listen to her either. Something new was taking hold of my mind. A nauseas feeling in the pit of my stomach making me feel very sick. A moan escaped my mouth and I hunched forward squeezing my eyes shut.

"Melody, honey, are you okay?" It was Wanda this time, but her words weren't registering in my mind because Emily was now yelling at me.

_You're going to throw up! Get to a bathroom or something!_ she hollered at me. My hand flew to my mouth and I tried to get to my feet, but I couldn't.

"She's going to be sick!"I heard Jared announce.

"Oh go on; all three of you!" Wanda ordered as two pairs of hands gripped my arms and pulled me to my feet. I saw Ian, Jared, and Jamie shuffle away out of the corner of my eye as Melanie and Wanda dragged me across the room where I heard flowing water. They gently lowered to me to my knees right in front of a dark stream just in time as vomit rose in my throat and flowed out of me. One of them held my hair back and the other rubbed my back as I was sick. In the back of my mind even Emily sympathized with as I sat there getting rid of everything that had been in my stomach. Finally it stopped and I sat on my knees with my arms wrapped around myself shaking.

"It's okay," Wanda murmured in my ear.

"Go away," I moaned as I lowered the rest of my body to the ground and just lay there.

"Why don't we take you back to your room?" Melanie suggested kindly as I felt her arms begin to snake underneath me.

"No! Go away!" I ordered more firmly.

"But Melod…" Melanie began.

"Let her be Mel. She's been through a lot today. Melody we'll be back to check on you later," I heard Wanda say. Then two pairs of footsteps, one light the other more prominent, moving away from me. Soon I could no longer hear them and a quiet sigh escaped my mouth. I was alone-well, as alone as I could be.

Emily was silent as I lay there. She knew right now was not a good time to start with me. She just curled herself up in a corner of my mind and waited for me to do something, but I didn't. I just lay on the dusty ground with my eyes closed and my arms curled around myself. If I thought really hard I could pretend I was laying on some hotel floor with Jeremy sleeping next to me. It seemed farfetched, but I needed him.

"Jeremy," I moaned out loud, but there was no reply. Of course there was no reply. He wouldn't come back.

"Melody," I jumped as the sound of someone's voice answered my moan. I quickly pushed myself onto my hands and knees and looked around. There was a single lantern a few yards away from me sitting in the middle of the floor and just outside its circle of light I could see the figure of a person standing there watching me.

"H-hello," I call uncertainly as my eyes lock on the shadowy figure and fear begins to flutter inside my stomach. This person does not register in my mind. Wanda or Melanie never introduced me to this person. It appeared to be a female because her hair was too long to be a boy.

"You don't know who I am do you?" the voice asked almost accusingly.

"No, I d-don't. No one introd-duced us," I squeaked nervously.

"Good, then you'll never know who killed you." my mouth fell open at these words and I tried to scream, but no sound came out. My only hope was that Wanda and Melanie would be coming to check on me soon.

_They've only been gone a few minutes,_ Emily reminded me. In my mind I could sense her conflicting emotions. She was so glad someone finally had the sense to want me dead, but at the same time she kept thinking about the unborn child our body was carrying. She didn't want it to die.

"Please," was all I managed to say as the woman began her advance towards me. I tried to back up, dragging my body backwards, but the wall hit my back and I had nowhere else to go. My breathing was heavy now and panic was flooding through my body. There was no way I would be able to defend myself.

_Then let me do it! I could hit her, oh I could! Right in her face too!_ Emily growled as anger bubbled from her corner of our mind. I tried to push it away. I did not want to feel that anger, that awful emotion. She and I were not alike. If this woman felt it was better that I was dead then I would let her fulfill her wish. It was my nature.

Then all too quickly the woman was there standing above me. I couldn't see her face, only the outline of her body from the lantern still sitting where it had been the whole time.

"Are you frightened?" she asked in a mockingly concerned tone. I just stared up at her cowering beneath her gaze. No sound came from me. Sound was beyond my ability now, I was too frightened.

_Emily it was a mistake coming here. I wish I hadn't. _I whimpered in my mind.

_Get up! Defend yourself!_ Emily ordered desperately as her thoughts swam through mine with thoughts of the baby. Immediately my hand inched to my stomach and lay there protectively.

_What kind of mother are you?_ Emily snarled,_ let me get her. I can do it!_ It was true Emily would be able to defend us. I squeezed myself into a corner of our mind trying to make myself as small as I could. Emily pushed past me forcefully. She struggled against me trying to get in my place. As she did this the woman bent towards me with her hand extended and I whimpered.

_Oh, Emily, please hurry, _I begged. As I said this she managed to push past me and I felt the control I'd had slip away. Without my cue my hands moved to the floor and pushed myself to my feet. Emily was doing that! She was controlling our body. She stepped forward as I felt our face twist into a grimace, something it had not done since before I had come.

"What are you going to do hmmm?" the woman asked not sounding nervous at all, but rather amused, "I know you souls. You couldn't hurt even a dead animal. I'm not scared of you."

"Oh, I'm not a soul," Emily announced with our shared lips, "I'm the human. I'm Emily." Then she lifted our hand preparing to hit this woman, but suddenly something collided with our stomach knocking the wind out of us. Our hands flew to our stomach was we sunk to our knees.

"Oooohhhh," Emily moaned as she began to weaken. Slowly she slipped past me back to her corner and I gained control once more. With pain and tears brimming in my eyes I looked up to see the woman laughing. She had kicked us, right in the stomach.

_The baby!_ I moaned. My head dropped and a sob escaped my throat. She really was going to kill me. She didn't even care about the helpless life living inside of me.

"Please stop, my baby," I managed to whisper, "you're going to kill it too." The woman had lifted her foot and was about to kick me again, but stopped when I said this.

"It will be a sad loss, but not something I can help. I'm not going to let these cave become full of you filthy worms," she growled. I looked up at her pleading with my eyes. There had to be some way to make her see. If I could only give her myself and not the baby.

"What if-what if I promised to let you…if after the baby was born you could do whatever you wanted with me? I just…you can't kill my baby," I sobbed pitifully, "you just can't. Please."

"You're lying. You'll go and tell your little protectors someone attacked you then they'll never leave your side," the woman growled as she said this her foot connected with my side sending a horrible pain shooting up my side. I squeaked in pain as I fell sideways.

"No, no I'm not. I won't tell any of them. Souls can't lie. You should know that. Please, just let my baby live!"

_She's not going to believe you._ Emily informed me sadly.

"Fine."

**Alright, that was the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please review!**

**This time you get a gingerbread man if you review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I was rather disappointed in the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter. Come on people. To those of you who did review thank you and here is your gingerbread man.**

"**hands out delicious cookies with gumdrop buttons and all!"**

**Here is the next chapter I hope you enjoy and I do not own the host or any of its characters. Just melody and Emily.**

My mouth fell open as her single spoken word reached my shocked ears. She had agreed. I'd had almost no hope for my baby as I pleaded for its life, but she'd said yes! Somehow she felt pity on my baby. She loved it too!

"Thank you," I breathed still laying at her feet clutching my throbbing side.

"Don't," she growled as she leaned over me, "you will come here a week after your baby is due. Exactly one week when the moon is highest in the sky. If you don't come I'll come find you. I swear you will die." With this the woman turned on her heel and left marching away and taking her lantern with her. I noted, as the light disappeared, that I had never even seen what she looked like. This woman who wanted me dead could be anyone in these caves.

_I want you dead too._ Emily reminded me evilly as happiness made her wickedness seem to grow. She was so glad that I was going to die and her baby was going to live. She never did see it as our baby like I did. It was her baby because this was her body. She didn't like to share with me. Even after everything I'd been through recently, she still hated me.

My breathing was still ragged and both my stomach and side were in horrible pain. The trek through the desert left me so weak. I felt awful and because of this tears began rolling down my cheeks. I moaned and curled into a small ball. This place was so awful. Sobs began slipping from my mouth and soon I was full out crying as I clutched my stomach. I don't know how long I lay there crying because of the pain and my loss and fear, but someone must have heard. A light began reflecting on the wall I was facing and footsteps were moving towards me.

"Please, please just go away. Don't hurt me anymore please!" I begged. The only person it could be was the woman from before; the woman who wanted me dead. But the footsteps did not stop. They continued moving towards me. I heard something being set on the ground not far from me then the footsteps continued. A shadow was now showing on the wall, but it was not a female's shadow. It was a man. This scared me. Did he want me dead too? What would he be doing here.

I made not a move as I lay there trying to keep quiet. My whole body was shaking and sobs mingled with whimpers continued to seep from my lips. Emily laughed at me and cackled wickedly.

"Hey," the person above me finally spoke, but it wasn't harshly. The voice was deep and clear and…gentle, "it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. No one is supposed to. Are you okay?"

_Don't you dare talk to him!_ Emily ordered harshly, but I didn't listen to her. I would talk to him if I wanted to, but I didn't want to. I didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Leave me alone," I groaned as a wrapped my arms around my middle and continued facing the opposite way.

"You're crying," he insisted as I heard rocks shift. The shadow on the wall got smaller and I knew he was kneeling over me. His hand found my shoulder and rested there, but I flinched away.

"No, I'm not," I sniffled as more tears flowed down my cheeks. His hand moved from my shoulder to my cheek where he felt the moisture.

"Yes, you are," he insisted then I felt his hand on my back and my body went ridged, but slowly he began rubbing up and down making my tense muscles relax. That felt so nice and before I realized what I was doing I began leaning into the hand on my back.

_Stop that right now!_ Emily growled at me as anger exploded from her corner. I flinched and curled in tighter.

_Emily!_ I moaned as more tears rolled down my cheeks. The boys hand had stopped and he was leaning farther over me. I could see his face now, but it was in shadow, so his features were unrecognizable.

"Are you hurt?" he asked as he took in the way my arms were placed and the continuous flow of tears along with my actions.

"No," I lied, but badly. His face was hard as I answered and suddenly I was in his arms.

"No one is supposed to hurt you. Jeb said so. This is supposed to be a safe place for you and your baby. Whoever it was," he began mumbling to himself as he straightened up with me wriggling in his arms.

"Who was it?" he asked a little harshly making me freeze.

"I-I don't know," I answered before thinking. It was the truth and he saw that, but he didn't put me down. Whoever this boy was just kept walking. He didn't even bother to pick up his lantern. He just left it and walked briskly back down the hall. He made his way around twists and turns, up slopes and down slopes until finally a light appeared ahead and the next thing I knew we were standing in the room full of cots where doc was sitting at his desk.

"Oh, hello Daniel. What's going on?" Doc inquired as he saw the boy standing in the doorway with me in his arms probably looking terrified.

"Someone thought it was okay to hurt her," the boy announced angrily.

"How?" Doc asked looking serious as he stood up. Daniel moved forward and placed me in a sitting position on one of the cots then answered.

"I don't know. She won't even admit someone hurt her, but I could tell she was lying. I don't think she knew who it was though," was his reply. Doc nodded then turned to me.

"Melody can you tell me what happened?" he asked kindly, but I shook my head. I couldn't even open my mouth. Tears were still falling from my eyes. I felt like such a baby.

"Then can you at least show me where you were hurt? Did they do anything to the baby?" his eyes raked my body for blood. I wasn't sure if I was bleeding or not. I'd never checked. I figured I ought to let him look me over if that meant making sure the baby was okay. I nodded to him then pointed to my side where the woman kicked me and to my rounded belly. His brow furrowed.

"Daniel can you leave the room for a minute?" Doc inquired. Daniel didn't say a word and left obediently. Doc then turned back to me. He reached for the hem of my dress and I scooted away from him nervously. "I just need to look at where you are hurt okay? For the baby." He waited a moment to see if I would protest, but I didn't. Slowly her rolled my dress up until it my pale belly was exposed with a dark black spot right in the middle. On my side there was another bruise and a small cut that was bleeding just a little.

Sitting on Doc's cot half naked made me feel very exposed, but the large bruise on my stomach made me want to be sick. My baby could be hurt and it would be all that woman's fault.

"My baby," I whispered as Doc walked away from me.

"I don't think there is any damage to your baby, but I don't know for sure. I have no way of knowing," he rummaged around on his desk then turned to me. He had a small white tube in his hand and some bandages. He came back to me and pulled a little strip from the white bottle.

"Here this will help with the pain," he informed me. I took the strip and put it into my mouth. He began dressing the cut on my side and I stared at the wall biting my lip.

"There has to be some way to make sure it's okay," I insisted in a whisper.

"That would only be possible with an ultra sound machine and I don't have one," he sighed. He straightened up and I looked down to see my side neatly bandaged. Doc rolled down my dress and gave me a kind smile, "only the souls have those now."

"Then we should take her there." I jumped as Daniel walked back into the room. "Wanda and Melanie could go and of course Jared would lead. We're due for a raid anyway." He came up to my cot and looked determinedly at Doc. I gazed at him curiously. He was showing an uncommonly large amount of concern for me, a soul whom he hadn't met until just a half an hour ago. It didn't make sense.

"I can't make that decision Daniel. That's something for Jeb," was Doc's answer as he put the lid back on the little white tube. I hadn't even noticed it working. There was no pain in my body whatsoever. I liked it.

"Okay we'll go to him then," Daniel replied. He then suddenly plucked me off the cot and set me on the floor as easily as if I were a doll.

"Be careful," Doc warned glaring at Daniel.

"Come on Melody," Daniel urged. He took my hand and began leading me away from Doc. I looked back at Doc helplessly, but he just watched as I was dragged away. Daniel took me quickly back up the tunnel until we were in the large room with what looked like gardens. Wanda was here. I saw her handing out water. She was the first person Daniel walked to.

"Melody," Wanda greeted looking relieved. She stepped forward and patted my shoulder. "Are you feeling better?" I was so glad to see her and managed to give her a weak smile, but before I could say anything Daniel opened his mouth.

"Someone hurt her, Wanda," Daniel announced as he let go of my hand.

"What," the relief on Wanda's face drained away only be replaced by shock. As I waited for her to say something more Melanie began coming towards us.

"What's going on?" she inquired after wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Daniel said someone hurt Melody," Wanda explained, "who was it?" I began shaking my head, but Daniel explained for me.

"She doesn't know, but they may have hurt the baby. We need to get her to a healing facility, so they can make sure it's alright," Daniel replied earnestly.

_Why does he care so much about you? You're worthless._ Emily spat as she listened to the intensity in his voice. She didn't understand it any more than I did. It made no sense. He didn't even know me.

"There's no possible way," Melanie protested.

"Well, we'd go on a raid. Wanda could take her in," Daniel piped up. Wanda moved to my side and put an arm around my waist. There was deep concern on her face.

"Have you even asked Melody if she would be comfortable with this? She's been through quite a lot in the past couple days," she asked politely. "I know it would be best for the baby, but you can only put a person through so much before they can't take any more."

"If," I began, but now Jeb was joining us. It seemed I'd never get my say. Not that I truly minded. Talking around these people made me nervous.

"Why're you all just standin' 'round when there is plants that need waterin'? They ain't gonna water themselves ya know. Nice ta see yer up an' about Melody, but I can't have ya distractin' my workers," Jeb hobbled up and said.

"There might be something wrong with Melody's baby. She needs to go to a healing facility," Daniel announced bluntly.

"What are you talkin' about boy?" Jeb squinted at Daniel and Daniel told the whole thing over again.

"If there is a possibility the baby is hurt she really ought to go," Melanie added once Daniel was done. I couldn't help but smile a little. It felt good to know other people cared about my baby and me.

"Well, then I s'pose you, Jared, Daniel, Ian, and Wanda can go along. Pick up some food on the way and more o' them tanky thing-a-mo-bobs. We can't send them aliens back ta space in baggies. No offense girls," Jeb waved to Wanda and I then tottered away.

"I guess that settles it," Wanda announced, "I'll go tell Ian."


End file.
